With the great impact of our telephones we are slowly letting devices creep into every aspect of our daily life. We often have a hard time leaving our telephones alone and focussing on the people around us. It is time to set some boundaries and create some undistracted face-to-face time.
I am not asking you to leave your phone at home, because our mobile phones have become a necessary and useful device. But trying to consciously disconnect is a process that can be done in small steps and to the degree that brings connection in your life. Meals are a great set time to take as a starting point. With your family you can agree on making mealtime a Device Free Moment. This is a great way to set an example to your children of how to connect without screens.
You can follow these steps in creating Device Free Moments:
1) Discuss with your children that you value their thoughts and ideas and that you hope as a family you are able to share this through conversations. You can express that you see the importance of phones but that it is not necessary to have them with you at all times.
2) Explain that you would like to choose a specific time of the day that every family member puts the phone away (in a specific location). For example dinner time.
3) Listen to your children's reaction and to their ideas. Make sure they feel heard. They might need to get used to the idea.
4) Decide together on the appropriate daily moment that every family member will put their phones away (on silent mode, in a specific location/different room, NOT in their pocket)
5) Emphasize that you will try it out for a week and then evaluate together.
Some other tips for DISCONNECTING more consciously:
-Remove notifications from your phone. Make sure you have no pop-ups to alert you about emails or social media messages coming in.
-Leave your phone in a set place when you are at home
-Make it a habit to check your email during certain moments of the day, instead of constantly keeping up with all the emails that arrive into your inbox.
-Make your bedroom off-limits to devices. The blue light has been shown to interrupt sleeping habits.
Lets try to consciously choose when we need to use our devices and when we can just leave them as they are. This way we can be present with our children in the moment, and teach our children how to connect without screens.
Please SHARE your Device Free Experiences with me!